Islam Hadiths, Hadith 29, Nawawi

Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths: Hadith 29 taught by Sheikh Gomaa: Fasting is a shield

I have been studying the ahadith because, next to the Qur’an, the ahadith (authoritative traditions) are the most influential body of literature in Islam.  Muhammad is reported to have taught in the 28th hadith compiled by al-Nawawi,

“Verily he among you who lives long will see great controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Khulafaa’ ar-Raashideen (the Rightly Guided Caliphs), those who guide to the right way. Cling to it stubbornly [literally: with your molar teeth].”

Muslims are to cling to the ahadith; in fact, I think it is fair to say one cannot practice Islam without the traditions of Muhammad.  To the Reformed Protestant Christian, this is striking.  Muslims believe the Qur’an is superior revelation to the Christian Scriptures.  However, unlike the Christian Scriptures, the Qur’an is not sufficient revelation for the guidance and wisdom of Muslims.  Muslims must depend on traditions written down many years after Muhammad’s death and there is a complex textual tradition to these tradtions that one does not find with the Qur’an.

Even though the ahadith are not as authoritative as the Qur’an, they are authoritative and requisite for the wisdom and guidance of the majority of Muslims.  As a Christian, I think many Muslims use a double standard:

  • Some Muslims criticize the Bible’s textual tradition without remembering the textual tradition of the ahadith.
  • It is a double standard when Muslims criticize the New Testament saying it was written down after Jesus’ death (less than 100 years after Jesus’ death), when Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj’s traditions were compiled more than 200 years after Muhammad’s death.
  • It is a double standard when Muslims use inauthentic Gospels that Christians do not accept (e.g. Gospel of Barnabas), when there are inauthentic hadiths Muslims do not accept.
  • It is a double standard when Muslims use liberal types of criticism, such as form criticism, against the Bible but not the ahadith. 1See for example,
    Eric F.F. Bishop, “Form-Criticism and the Forty-two Traditions of al-Nawawi,” Muslim World, Vol. 30, No. 3, 1940, pp. 253-61
    “Academic scholarship in the Western tradition” in Wikipedia

Here is the twenty-ninth hadith compiled by al-Nawawi, first in Arabic and then in English,

عن معاذ بن جبل رضي الله عنه ، قال : قلت : يا رسول الله ! أخبرني بعمل يدخلني الجنه ويباعدني عن النار ، قال : ( لقد سألت عن عظيم ، وإنه ليسير على من يسره الله عليه : تعبد الله لا تشرك به شيئاَ ، وتقيم الصلاة ، وتؤتي الزكاة ، وتصوم رمضان ، وتحج البيت ) ثم قال : ( ألا أدلك على أبواب الخير ؟: الصوم جنة ، والصدقة تطفىء الخطيئة كما يطفىء الماء النار ، وصلاة الرجل في جوف الليل ) ثم تلا : { تتجافى جنوبهم عن المضاجع } حتى بلغ { يعملون } [ 32 سورة السجدة / الأيتان : 16 و 17 ] ثم قال : ( ألا أخبرك برأس الأمر وعموده وذروة سنامه ؟ ) قلت : بلى يا رسول الله ، قال : ( رأس الأمر الإسلام ، وعموده الصلاة ، وذروة سنامه الجهاد ) ثم قال : ( ألا أخبرك بملا ذلك كله ؟ ) فقلت : بلى يا رسول الله ! فأخذ بلسانه وقال : ( كف عليك هذا )، قلت : يا نبي الله وإنما لمؤاخذون بما نتكلم به ؟ فقال : ( ثكلتك أمك وهل يكب الناس في النار على وجوههم –أو قال : (على مناخرهم )- إلا حصائد ألسنتهم ؟!).
رواه الترمذي [ رقم : 2616 ] وقال : حديث حسن صحيح

On the authority of Mu’aadh bin Jabal (radi allahu ‘anhu 2Arabic to English translation, May Allah be pleased with him.) who said :

I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell Fire.

He said: You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: Worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the Prayer; pay the Zakaah; fast in Ramadaan; and make the Pilgrimage to the House.

Then he said: Shall I not guide you towards the Means of Goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the Praying of a man in the depths of the Night. Then he recited: “[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah’s Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” [Soorah as-Sajdah, 16-17]

Then he said: Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak ?

I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah.

He said: The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the Prayer and its peak is Jihad.

Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?

I said: Yes, O Mesenger of Allah.

So he took hold of his tongue and said: Restrain this.

I said: O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?

He said: May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’aadh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hell Fire upon their faces – or on their noses – except the harvests of their tongues?

It was related by at-Tirmidhee, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth.

Listen to the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa teach about the twenty-ninth hadith.  My notes follow

1:43-3:47

“Fasting is a shield.  Therefore, the Messenger (SAWS) 3Abbreviation for the Arabic phrase transliterated, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.  This phrase is used after references to Muhammad and his titles.  It means May Allah bless him and grant him peace. used to fast every Monday and Thursday.  He used to fast the White days or the White nights.  They were named “White” because the moon is complete and shines in those nights.  They are the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every lunar month.  They start with the odd, 13th, and end with the odd, 15.  He often used to fast on Saturdays and Sundays.  But not always.  He also used to fast in Muharram and Sha’ban.  He used to fast Ashora’, that he said, “If I live for the next year I will fast the 9th and 10th.”  But he died in that year so he didn’t get to fast the 9th.  But it was confirmed that he wanted to.  He used to fast the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah.  He used to command his companions to fast the day of Arafah,  for it erases the sins of previous [the] year.  It is the best day of the year, just as the Night of Determination is the best night of the year.  So, the Messenger (SAWS) frequently fasted in other than Ramadan.”

Ali Gomaa adds all this up and notes that Muhammad would fast about six months out of the year (4:34).

5:19-5:35

“The Prophet (SAWS) shows us that fasting is a shield.  Because it results in piety and self-calmness.  And because it teaches people to obey Allah.”

My Christian comments: There is much to be learned when we compare Muhammad’s practice of fasting with Jesus’ practice and teaching (Matthew 4:1-11; 6:16-18; 9:14-17).

Muhammad’s comments about the tongue are very similar to James 3:1-12 (see especially James 3:6).

Feel free to share your comments and recommendations to help further my study and understanding.

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